


Just Obeying Orders

by the_inkwell_variable



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Character Death, Dark, Gen, Mention of sex, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_inkwell_variable/pseuds/the_inkwell_variable
Summary: Shido has a back-up plan - a Fail-Safe, in case the Phantom Thieves do somehow manage to subvert his expectations and change his heart.  Japan will be his or it will fall to ruin - even if he must personally cause that ruin.A Zombie AU in which one of Shido's lackeys deploys Shido's Final Solution.
Kudos: 6





	Just Obeying Orders

Muroi Yoshikane's hands tremble on the steering wheel as the campaign car crawls through the packed streets of Shinjuku. He forces his eyes to remain on the gray asphalt before him, trying to ignore the waves and the cheers and the happiness around him. Shido's voice blares from the speakers on the car's roof, ringing in his ears even though the interior is layered with soundproofing foam. But it's fine - it hides the hiss of the disperser, hides the sound of his greatest crime.

He knew that joining the Yakuza would come with a blood price - everyone knew that. He knew they weren't picky whose blood it was. But he'd always assumed it would be adults who opposed his bosses, not innocent children or the elderly or the disabled - and certainly not so many of them.

His eyes flick to the rearview mirror as a child - _God help him, the first was a child_ \- collapses on the street, convulsing and spitting foam into the face of his screaming mother. She doesn't scream long. Within moments she, and everyone else who had gotten a faceful of Shido's Final Solution, join the little boy on the pavement.

Muroi wants to push the button to stop the spray. He wants to hit the gas and floor it - out of Shinjuku, out of Japan - but his foot remains unmoving on the pedal. It truly is a testament to Shido's power that he doesn't flee - there's no point. Shido will find him. Shido always finds them. And Shido does not take kindly to cowards and traitors.

There are others, he knows. In Akibahara, in Kichijoji, in Aoyama Itchome and even Shibuya. Each in their own campaign car, each driving through the streets surrounded by cheering fans of the future savior of Japan, Masayoshi Shido. In the past - _was it really only yesterday?_ \- he loathed them. They were nothing but sheep, ready to surrender their free will to a man with a silver tongue and a brilliant smile. They sang his praises from the beginning. Even his elderly mother, who had never voted a day in her life, is planning to go to the polls tomorrow.

_Ma._

Muroi hits the call button on the large GPS screen and taps his mother's name. Shido probably doesn't know that his drivers regularly called people from his cars, and to be frank, he probably doesn't care. As long as his message gets to the people and the drivers don't cause a scandal, it doesn't matter. Hell, Muroi himself once got head from the cute girl who worked at the maid cafe while doing a campaign drive-by.

Should he call her too, the girl with the brown curls and wide eyes and smile so pure it felt like he'd corrupt her just by breathing the same air? No. They haven't spoken in months, not since he started putting more work into Shido's campaign and she caught him with the intern in the bushes of the Diet Building. Besides, why would she believe him?

He wouldn't even believe him.

"Yoshikane Minae speaking."

Muroi jerks his attention out of his thoughts and turns left. "Ma? It's Muroi. Listen - "

"Oh, how nice to hear from you again! I was just telling Nonaka-san how I didn't think you'd have time to call, what with the elections being so close."

"Ma - "

"She got those little biscuits, the chocolate ones her granddaughter sends, and we made some tea. Her granddaughter is such a nice young girl - when are you going to give me grandchildren, Muroi? These old bones can't spoil babies much longer, you know - "

"Ma, _please_ listen!" Blue and red lights flash behind him. The chaos is beginning. He doesn't have much time. "Ma, you gotta get out of town right now. Go - go visit Hiroko for a few days. Can the car still make it out there?"

"My goodness, no, the car finally died a few days ago - but are you alright? You sound out of breath. Is Shido-sama running you ragged?"

"Ma - "

"Oh! Is that a campaign car I hear? Such a sweet boy, coming to visit his old mother - "

His heart leaps into his throat. "Ma, don't go outside - "

There is no response, save the clatter of something hitting the ground and a long beep, indicating that the call is over. He slams his fist into the steering wheel, tears burning the corners of his eyes. Even if he floors it now, it is too late.

He can't do this anymore. He can't pretend this is just obeying orders for another second. The screams around him are drowning out even the thundering campaign speech. He turns it off with the flick of a button and immediately regrets it. The screams of the dying are much louder when the false promises of an egomaniac aren't stifling the air.

He pulls the car into an alley and turns it off. If only he could pretend that this would end it - but it won't. Once the disperser activates, it does not stop until every droplet of that has is gone. At least he's safe in here. The car is airtight - Shido promised him that much. He can catch his breath, calm his head, figure out a way out of this mess before it gets out of hand.

A beep from the disperser draws his eyes. There are red words on the screen, so small he can barely see them. He leans in, squinting.

EARLY CAR SHUT-OFF DETECTED.  
ACTIVATING "NO LOOSE ENDS" ALTERNATIVE  
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO MASAYOSHI SHIDO

The words barely register before the spraying begins again. He can feel the mist on his arms, on his scruffy face, in his eyes and nose and lips. He jerks back, frantically scrubbing his face with his sleeve, but it's too late. He can feel it taking effect inside him. Everything is burning - his very veins are on fire.

He scrabbles at the glove compartment, his hands shaking so badly that he can barely keep the gun between his fingers. As he struggles to click off the safety, the interior speaker clicks on, and that voice, that fucking voice, rolls through the enclosed space.

"You are of no more use to me and, as such, I'm afraid your service to me has ended. Thank you for your excellent work and dedication. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."

Shido's words blur into a roar as his body begins to thrash. The gun falls, harmless, between his feet. He can't move, can't breathe, can't _think_ -


End file.
